Rigid-jaw wrench having jaw-face extensions on offset shank



Feb. 16, 1954 w. M. KOENIG 2,669,147

RIGID-JAW WRENCH HAVING JAW-FACE EXTENSIONS ON OFFSET SHANK Filed Marchso, 1955 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 16, 1954 or riceRIGID'-JAW-WRENCH HAVING JAW'FACE EXTENSIONS QN OFFSET'S'HANK,

William M. .Kdenig Webster, ScDaki Application March so, 1953,S'erial'No. 345,459

This invention relates; to. a: novel type of Wrench.

In the-conventional. tractor trackpthertractor belts must be maintainedtight on-their respective sprocket wheels and for this purpose there .15

provided' a spring tensioned bolt which from time "to--time-must-betightenedto maintain the parts under tensionand-adjustment: The boltsin the conventional tractor; areso locatedqthat an ordinary wrenchcannot be used.:.

The primary object of the. invention is to provide -a-wrenchparticula-rlysfor use in tightening main tension bolts on endlesstrackscof a tractor.

A further object of the. invention is to provide a short wrench ofintegral construction which can be utilized in a-restricted area of sucha character that the conventional wrench cannot be utilized;thesshortzintegral wrench being designed for association. with: theconventional ratchet wrench, the wrench'daw'being, offset from theshankstructure to permit the application of the force from the ratchetwrench from a plane above thewrench. jaw.

A further object of "the invention is the provision of an integralwrench structure so designed that the conventional ratchet wrench may beutilized in a manner permitting any angular position between the pullhandle and the nut engaging head.

Other features of the invention will more clearly hereinafter appear byreference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the instantapplication and in which like characters of reference designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the wrench in engagement with a nut andhaving the conventional ratchet wrench associated therewith;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the structure of Fig. 1 showing associatedparts of an endless tractor belt;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the structure of the assembly; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the invention.

The wrench structure is of integral form and includes a rigid head Ishaped to receive a nut or bolt B of hexagonal form, although it will beobvious to one skilled in the art that a Workengaging recess 2 of thewrench head may have a suitable number of Walls so as to receive a bolt4.,Claims. (Cl.i 81--119) or nut {head :of ':other: shape ordesign; Ashank 3 forrtheawrenchrheadrl includes a forwardextensionrwhiclroverliesthe top. medial portion ,of the head i and terminates flushwiththerecessin inclined-or outwardly diverging faces .4 which lie: in the-planesofthe underlying walls or workengaging; faces of the; Wrench head 1 sothatfree passageof the wrencht headgonto. the nut Bis provided; Theforward superimposed endof the shank 3-is welded or otherwise formed asan-integralpart of'the wrench. head- I with the end faces of theshan-kvertically. aligned-or coplanar withzadjacenttfaces of the wrench headas heretofore: described: The shank: 3 of i the wrench head-1 extendsrearwardly with its upper surface in ahorizontal plane, and adjacent anouter'end 5?;thereof a socket: l ,l .is. provided-for the reception ofa;shank-,1 2- of awconventional ratchet wrench A1170 :be hereinafter,described:

The: shank'istructure 3;-is substantially. thickened medially at 6 toprovide a forward shoulder l, which abuts the Wrench head land is;welded thereto;andya;rearwardshoulder 9; the latterbeingispacedizsufliciently inward from the outer end 5' lof;the,shanl;to. clear intervening wall parts,

such: as: shown, atv [0. The provision of*the thickened medialportion6.:ofthe wrench shank 3i while providing an extremely rigid torque.transmitting; body.isssorv constructedi and arranged. as to clear theinner face of the part 10 so that the wrench can be swung on the axis ofthe nut without striking the inner face of the wall [0 by application ofthe reversible ratchet wrench structure A. The ratchet wrench A includesthe usual shank and wrench head, the wrench head l4 includingconventional reversible mechanism indicated generally at l5. It will beunderstood that the ratchet wrench A, in itself, forms no part of theinstant invention, the invention being comprehended by the integralwrench structure and being designed for association and use with aratchet wrench.

The illustrations of the instant invention embody its use in associationwith the nut head B on the bolt 12 which comprehends a tensioning boltused in tightening the track links of an endless track and in suchinstallations the machine frame embodies a wall structure or elementillustrated and indicated generally at II]. This arrangement obviouslyprohibits the use of any long shanked wrench structure and requires theoffset superimposed relation between the wrench head i and the ratchethead [4 for the application of necessary forces in the rotation of thenut B. It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that the structuremay be used not only as a special tool in the tightening of tensioningbolts of endless tracks for tractors, but could be used in otherassemblies embodying the same association of parts and the structurealso permits a reversing of the wrench unit in instances where the partsare oppositely positioned from the arrangement illustrated in theinstant drawings.

It will be noted that the wrench head I includes inwardly projectingextremities I which partially embrace the outer faces of the nut B asviewed from the top plan View of Fig. 1, these extensions l increasingthe area of engagement between the wrench head I and the nut B andpreventing separation of the associated parts during operation, as wellas increasing the working surfaces of the parts. It will also be notedthat the end faces a of the shank add to the areas of the working facesbetween the wrench and the nut and tend to maintain the wrench head i onthe nut B against rotational movement which might be present due to theinconvenient arrangement of the work and necessary angle of operationbecause of this arrangement.

By the proposed construction applicant has provided a novel device ofgreat strength and sturdiness which is capable of use in tightening thetension bolts of the endless tracks of tractors by means permittingcontrol of the operation and thus enabling the proper tension to beapplied on the structure, it being obvious that the ratchet wrench shownat A may be in the nature of a tension wrench whereby predeterminedtension may be applied should this be found desirable. It will also beobvious to one skilled in the art that the wrench embodies maximumstrength and at the same time provides an offset position for theoperator so that the operator without inconvenience can accomplish hiswork and apply to the tension bolt direct forces to accomplish therequired result.

What I claim is:

1. In a wrench for use in tightening tension bolts for endless tracksfor tractors, a shank member having a downwardly depending shoulderadjacent one end, a wrench head formed rigidly with the shank and havingone of its faces abutting said shoulder and Welded thereto, the endfaces of said shank terminating flush with work-engaging jaw portions ofsaid wrench head, an outer end portion for said wrench shank having asocket for receiving a wrench part, and the medial portion of said shankbeing relatively thick and extending substantially below the outer endportion of said shank.

2. In a wrench structure including an elongated shank, said shank havinga medial depending thickened portion defined by shoulders, a wrench jawrigidly fixed to a bottom face of said shank at one end and abutting oneof said shoulders, and an operating part for said shank superimposedupon the other end of said shank.

3. In an integral wrench structure including a jaw and a shank, saidshank having one end overlying a medial portion of said jaw andterminating flush with work-engaging faces of the jaw, said shankincluding a thickened medial portion formed by a portion lying below anupper face of the jaw, and means for operating said wrench superimposedabove said shank at its outer end.

4. In a wrench including a jaw and shank, said jaw being formed with arecess to provide walls for engaging all of the faces of an associatednut, said shank being formed with a forward shoulder adjacent one end,said shoulder abutting an outer face of the wrench jaw and the end ofsaid shank terminating flush with the recess and lying in the plane ofcertain Walls of the recess, said shank including an elongated mediallythickened portion terminating in an outer shoulder, the outer extremityof the shank being adapted to be engaged by an operating part.

WILLIAM M. KOENIG.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,597,785 Grant Aug. 31, 1926 1,924,089 Groessant N Aug. 29,1933 2,420,132 Gryniuck .a May 6, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number CountryDate 24,036 Australia Aug. 20, 1935 879,917 France Dec. 10, 1942

